A chopper flying with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis crash landed in Nilanga in Latur, Maharashtra on Monday. The helicopter developed a technical snag during takeoff causing it to crash land. The chief minister and the team in the chopper have escaped unhurt.
“Our helicopter did meet with an accident in Latur but me and my team is absolutely safe, nothing to worry, Devendra Fadnavis tweeted.
A senior official of the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) said it was an accident and the chopper suffered substantial damage.
Fadnavis had gone to Latur in Marathwada for the BJP’s ‘Shivar Samwad Sabha’, a statewide campaign to reach out to farmers.
“I am safe. There was a minor accident involving the helicopter. People shouldn’t believe in rumours,” Fadnavis later told mediapersons.
“This is a new helicopter. We will seek information from police on this incident,” the chief minister added. Recently, while visiting Gadchiroli in Vidarbha region, his helicopter had suffered a technical snag, following which he had travel by road to Nagpur.
“After so much of hardwork for water conservation, Halgara village(Latur) aspires to become a model village,” Fadnavis Tweeted. He further promised to make the village a model village, also tweeting a video of the same.
Four persons were travelling in the chopper, which he said was six-seven years old. “We were four people. A person with me, Chetan Pathak, was slightly hurt but he is ok now. My blood pressure was taken, everything is normal,” Mr Fadnavis said.
Visuals showed the white chopper on the ground, damaged.
Sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said, “After take-off, the pilot found variable wind pattern and decided to land. During landing, the helicopter got entangled in wires. The helicopter has sustained substantial damage.”
The incident comes worryingly close to another one last week when the Chief Minister was forced to travel by road through a Maoist-affected area after his chopper developed a snag in Gadchiroli district.
